My Immortal: The Rewrite
by SawManiac211
Summary: I have been challenged to rewrite the infamous 'My Immortal' and make it better - let's hope it is!
1. Chapter 1

**First off, a disclaimer: I do not own 'My Immortal', thank God.  
>This is a challenge set to me by my friend JinxSaw – also the Beta of this fanfic – to rewrite 'My Immortal', so if the plotline is awful (which is pretty bad to be honest) please don't flame me for it, or any character changes I was forced to make: I'm just making do with what I have. I don't mind flames as long as you tell me what you don't like and what you want me to change in the writing.<br>That over and done with, please review and tell me how I'm doing! Enjoy!**

Chapter One

Hi. My name is Ebony Dementia Darkness Raven Way, and I think that I'm misunderstood. People think that because of my name and my clothes I'm a goth and an emo; they don't seem to get that there's a difference. I'm not either of them really: I wear the clothes 'cos I like them, and to be honest, I'd rather stand out from the crowd than be part of it.

I suppose I got it from my parents – muggles, both of them. _They_ were the proper gothic types, with leather greatcoats, steel-heeled boots and that kind of stuff. They didn't have much to do with the rest of my family, and they've never wanted to have much to do with us – or me, either; when they found out my full name at my christening – after my parents were bullied into it by my Auntie Sybil – they thought that I'd turn out like my parents and didn't see me again after that.

I must be sounding quite whiney, and I'm really sorry about that, but I hate being judged by the way I look, and that's all that's ever happened to me. I was hoping that when I came to Hogwarts things would be different, but no: they all took one look at my clothes and my parents on platform nine and three-quarters and thought that I was another snooty pure-blood who belonged in Slytherin, along with the other bad eggs. They were right about one thing; I was placed in Slytherin, but they're totally wrong about everything else. Even now in my seventh year here, they still view me based on their own stupid views: I have only one true friend here who sees me for who I am, although I suppose this is just as well. Judging by the amount of Slytherins here who refer to muggle-borns as mudbloods, it'd probably be best to keep quiet on my family.

Today's been a bit of a bad day, as you can probably tell. It must be something like three degrees outside, but instead of snow all we get is this mushy sleet which gets into your shoes and saturates your clothes. Last lesson was Herbology and we were helping Professor Sprout to salvage as many of the plants outside as we could to stop them from freezing; as a result I had to change into my own clothes. Over the years I had tried to buy things that would be sensible for wearing – I'm hardly going to wear leather stuff all the time! Who does that? – so I grabbed a simple dark green jumper, black skinny jeans and my fake army boots to wear. It was nearly time for Potions class, so instead of towelling my hair dry I simply pulled it back in a high ponytail and prayed as I snatched my things and hurried out of the girls' common room that it looked ok.

People did give me some odd looks as I hurried the short way to the lesson, but I hoped that that was just because I wasn't wearing uniform. When I arrived, I was relieved to see that everyone was still milling around outside, chatting in little groups. Professor Snape may be Head of Slytherin house and therefore excuse my clothing – due to his obvious favouritism – but God help anyone who turned up late, even Slytherins.

I was just making sure that I had my equipment when someone said snidely: "Get a bit wet, did you?"

Looking up, I groaned inwardly when I saw Draco Malfoy, also feeling supremely irritated that even though he was clearly making fun of me, my heart had started pounding at the mere sight of his smooth blond hair and smoky grey eyes. Malfoy was the one person I wanted to keep my distance from, given his attitude towards muggle-borns – but he was also the only person who made me feel like this.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I wouldn't have gotten so wet if you and your little trolls had bothered to _help_, instead of chatting in the greenhouse out of the way!" Speaking of which, where were Crabbe and Goyle? I peered round Malfoy's shoulder: they were huddled together a good distance away from their leader. So Malfoy came to talk to me alone. Interesting…

Malfoy laughed. "Well, you looked like you were doing such a good job on your own with those Gryffindor mudbloods!"

Even though the comment – indirectly and unknowingly by him targeted at me – stung, his smile diminished it somehow. Not for the first time my pale skin was a vice: blushing was _not_ what I needed right now.

"So, Ebony…" I waited curiously for him to continue. Was Malfoy…nervous? Maybe I was just reading it wrong. Draco Malfoy is not, after all, someone who gets nervous. He opened his mouth to say something more, but at that moment the classroom door opened and the noise died down instantly as the black-cloaked figure of Snape appeared in previously empty doorway.

"Enter." His lips had barely moved but he might as well have shouted; everyone could hear him loud and clear. Malfoy re-joined his group of friends as we filed into the classroom. I was wondering what he had been about to say when Snape clamped his hand down on my shoulder, preventing me from entering.

"Professor Sprout informed me that you may be wearing your own clothes other than your uniform," He smiled thinly. "Let's just help that your jumper isn't flammable."

"Yes professor." He released his grip and I walked into the classroom. I was probably the only Slytherin there who was creeped out by Snape, and I tried to hide it as best I could, so that the more malevolent members wouldn't have any ammunition to pick on me and make my life hell. Speaking of which…my mind returned to what Malfoy might've been about to say to me. What had it been? Hopefully I'll find out sooner or later; I hate not knowing what's going to happen next…

**So? Any better/worse than the original? Hope that at least the spelling's ok!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much to the_mischevious_pixie, Madtala Bird That Flies At Dawn, Linzerj and SexyFireBendingNinja for reviewing and giving me support – it's good to know that I'm doing a little better than original author of this fanfic. This is for all you guys!**

Chapter Two

I was woken up the next morning in exactly the same way as I have been woken up every day for the past seven years: a pillow smacked me in the face. Groaning, I tossed it on the floor, and barely closed my eyes again when this time a green converse hit me square in the forehead. Damn, but Raven was a good shot: she had to be to be a Chaser on the Slytherin quidditch team.

"Wake up, sleepyhead, or Snape's gonna grill and eat you for breakfast!" Raven grinned wickedly at me in the mirror as I rolled out of bed, still wrapped up in my duvet on account of how the Slytherin girls' dorm room was always so cold, even in the summer. Peering into the mirror through the eerie green light, I pulled my hair into a messy bun.

"You do realise that it's the weekend, right?" Raven drawled as I fumbled around for my school clothes. I paused for a second and then glared at her.

"Oh, very funny Raven."

"It was," Raven beamed, outlining her eyes with my kohl pencil. "I love the way you over-react whenever I mention 'Snape'."

"Yeah well, you _know_ how much that guy creeps me out." I complained, slipping a woollen green jumper over my head and picking out a fresh pair of jeans.

"Still funny."

"Is not."

"Is so!"

"So fucking childish." I growled, snatching the kohl pencil out of her hand.

Raven's mouth twitched. "Touché. Someone got out on the wrong side of the bed."

"Shut up!"

"Oi, it's thanks to me that you even got out of bed at all!"

I didn't even grace her with an answer, instead drawing a massive black line down her face and then legging it out of the girls' dorm to avoid immediate total annihilation.

After Raven chucked both her converses down the stairs at me and fixed her make-up, we both headed for the Great Hall.

"Sooo," Raven linked her arm through mine, the smell of bacon and eggs coming ever closer. "Anything you want to tell me?"

I feigned innocence. "Like what?"

She scoffed. "Oh come on, like Draco Malfoy finally talking to you after a six-year wait?"

"It wasn't _that_ momentous…"

"Pur-lease, you've had a crush on him since you first laid eyes on his smarmy little face. Just because I don't like him doesn't mean that I don't see these things!"

"I do not!"

"You totally do – you want to shag the arse off him!"

I rounded on her. "I do not want to shag the arse off Draco Malfoy, kapeesh?"

"That's good," Came an all-too familiar voice. "Because I'd rather not have you anywhere near the vicinity of my arse, either now or ever."

_Oh, shit. Shir, shit, SHIT…_ Cheeks burning, I turned slowly round. "Hello Malfoy." I said in what I hoped was a level voice.

"Hello, Ebony." His eyes bored into mine. I felt flustered, hot and embarrassed: dammit, why did this have to happen to me? I felt Raven nudge me and say that we needed to go to breakfast; I realised that I'd been staring at Malfoy for far longer than necessary. Breaking eye contact I went to go into the Great Hall.

"So, apparently they're getting Caldron Fire to play in Hogsmead." Malfoy said suddenly. Thrown, I turned to Raven for guidance: she just gave me a knowing wink and walked into the Great Hall, leaving me behind. I looked at Malfoy, trying to figure out where the conversation was going. I was also trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about.

"Uh…who is Caldron Fire?"

He looked at me like I'd grown two heads. "Caldron Fire is not a 'who' it's a 'what'. Caldron Fire is a band – one of the best bands in the known wizard world – although I expect if you've never heard of them you're not going to be interested."

"Whoever said that I wasn't interested?" I fumbled for something to say that wouldn't make me look like an idiot – well, at least not as much of an idiot as I looked right now. "What style of music do they do?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Some idiots who can't tell good music from ridiculously awful think they sound a bit like Good Charlotte, some muggle rock band."

I brightened at the comparison. "Good Charlotte? Oh I'll probably like Caldron Fire then, I _love_ Good Charlotte's stu – " And then I remembered who I was talking to. _Shit._

Malfoy raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Seriously? You listen to muggle bands?" I refused to look at him, to see the mocking sneer spread across his face. I hoped that he would just say something cutting and leave; the least I could expect from him before he spent the rest of our time here making my life hell. His response surprised me: forcing my chin up with his forefingers, he gave me a small smile. "I suppose I'd better educate you in some proper music, seeing as all you like right now is dirty muggle trash."

Forgetting the insult, I stared blankly back at him. Was he…was he being serious?

My lack of response made his smile fade slightly. "Ebony, do you want to go and see Caldron Fire with me or not? Because generally people require an answer to that kind of question, and gaping at me like a goldfish isn't exactly a 'yes' or 'no'?"

I blinked and quickly closed my mouth. I went through a dozen different replies in my head, finally replacing _"Yes, I'd love to."_ with "Sure, sounds cool."

Malfoy nodded, and all at once a faint feel of shyness seemed to radiate off him, just like outside the potions classroom in the dungeons the day before. "I'll see you at eight in the Entrance Hall: father said he'd gotten permission from Professor Snape for us to leave the school." He seemed unsure of how to end, so he just said "See you later." and went into the Great Hall.

I stood there for a few seconds, trying to take it all in. A date with Draco Malfoy, who would've thought it? But pretty soon, excitement turned to panic as a single question resounded in my mind.

What the _hell_ was I going to wear?


	3. Chapter 3

**Fangs to all the goffik…ok I can't do it, **_**thanks**_** to all the **_**awesome**_** people – Bird That Flies At Dawn, StupidityNowOffersWisdom, thisisforyou and No-Dai But Today – who have reviewed so far – it's given me a lot of encouragement to keep writing. Ok, on to Chapter 3!**

Chapter Three

It was half seven. The GHDs were broken, I'd only gotten as far as concealer make-up wise, and Raven looked ready to use every single pair of the fifteen stilettos I'd tried on but then discarded as makeshift daggers.

"For God's sake, Ebony!" She jerked an impatient thumb at her wardrobe; clothes spilled from the doors, which had been flung wide open an hour ago, and pooled on the floor in a variety of colours. "If there's nothing in that lot that you don't like, then there's something very wrong with you. I mean, you refused to wear my Vera Wang – I've never known anyone to turn down designer!"

"Yeah well, 'designer' for muggles is more 'bin bags' in Malfoy's opinion." I muttered, snatching up the foundation. Choosing clothes always made me irritable, and this was no exception.

"Look, you need to pick something _now_; he's expecting you at eight and knowing the pretentious bastard if you're even a few seconds late he's never going to let it go until the day we leave Hogwarts." She held the Vera Wang against herself and pouted. "Try the dress again just for me?"

I hesitated. "Actually…I was thinking about wearing something from _my_ wardrobe."

Raven froze. "Now Ebony, we've talked about this haven't we – none of your clothes are suitable for first dates, so whenever you go out with anyone, be it Malfoy, Crabbe or Severus Snape, you are to report directly to me for suitable clothes-ware."

"Yes but…he said the band was like Good Charlotte."

"So?"

"So, wouldn't my stuff be more suited for that kind of thing?"

Raven practically jumped up and down in frustration. "But this is your _first date_; you don't want to go messing this up, especially Draco Malfoy. If he sees you in your clothes – or the things you call 'clothes' – then you'll never hear the last of it, and the rest of Slytherin house will be the first to find out."

I chewed on my bottom lip. "I suppose but…it's worth a try."

She flung up her hands in a gesture of despair. "Alright, fine, but on your own head be it. I hope you know what you're doing."

At the time I did, but by the time eight came round and I was making my way to the Entrance Hall Raven's warnings were echoing in my head, and I was having doubts about my dress sense. Rounding the corner I saw Malfoy, his back turned to me, checking a fob watch before slipping it back into his pocket. The flickering light cast by the flaming torches turned his hair gold, a stark contrast from his charcoal suit jacket, which seemed to be absorbing all the light in the room. I suddenly felt very self-conscious – he looked so smart, whereas I…well, it was too late now. Taking a deep breath, I stepped slowly into the Entrance Hall. The click of my stiletto lace-up boots alerted him to my approach and he turned on his heel. "So, you are capable of arriving on time. After the amount of lessons you've arrived late for…" His voice faltered and trailed off as he took me in. "Oh."

I fiddled with a lock of hair that had fallen from my messy bun. "I wasn't sure what to wear, so…is it ok?" By my standards it was fine: ripped crimson fishnets with similar fingerless gloves and black mini-dress with a leather corset and lace skirt, puffed out like a tutu. But from Malfoy's emotionless expression, I may well have misjudged how well my sense of style would be received. Shit, maybe Raven had been right…but a small bemused smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"Well, it's not what I expected, or what I'd generally class as fashion, but…it rather suits you."

I grinned, suddenly relieved. "You really think so?"

He rolled his eyes. "No I think it's perfectly hideous and that's why I'm saying that you look absolutely stunning. I mean – " He coughed, suddenly flustered, and moved towards the doors that would lead onto the grounds. "Oh, forget it. Come on let's go."

"Certainly, _Draco_." I smirked, following him outside. So much for Raven and her fashion advice! "So how are we going to get to Hogsmead? Walk?"

Malfoy snorted. "In your heels? I doubt that you'll get very far. No, we're using _this_ method of transport." I peeped over his shoulder, and my jaw hit the dirt. There, right in front of us, was a sleek black vehicle that looked shockingly expensive and all too familiar.

"It's a car." I said stupidly.

"Not just any car. A black car that _flies_. And a Mercedes-Bens at that, although why muggles spend so much on them beats me." He opened the passenger door and gestured for me to get in, but I just stood there.

"Isn't this illegal or something? I mean, after those idiots from Gryffindor flew a Ford into the Whomping Willow the ministry kicked up one hell of a fuss."

Malfoy winced at the mention of 'those idiots', one of which I knew was his arch enemy. "Father caused most of it – he hates those Weasley muggle-lovers – but in reality he didn't think of it as that much of a big deal. When I asked him whether I could have one he immediately got one, top of the range."

"And can you drive it?"

"Of course I can drive it, if Potter and that Weasley can do it then so can I…so, are you going to get in?"

I finally slipped into the plush leather chair, sinking deep into the seat. God it was so comfortable, it beat a broomstick by a mile. Malfoy closed the door and walked round to the other side of the car, did up his seatbelt and pressed a blue button on the dashboard. With a soft hum the car hovered for a moment and then smoothly floated upwards into the night sky.

In a very short time that was filled with a silence that was comfortable rather than awkward, we had arrived at Hogsmead. Young witches and wizards flocked into the Three Broomsticks where the band was playing: a surly-looking man checked the tickets that Malfoy produced with a flourish from the inside pocket of his jacket before waving us in with an impatient growl. The inside space had been completely transformed, the tables and chairs stacked neatly along one wall in precarious-looking piles and a stage set up at the far end; it was also crammed with people. Malfoy closed his hand over mine and pushed his way through the crowd so that we were quite close to the front; I had expected people to complain or start a fight, but everyone let us pass without even looking us in the eyes. I realised why pretty quickly: Malfoy's father was known to have been a Death Eater, and reputation made people wary. That made me uncomfortable – I mean, what must they think of me?

"Looks like your kind of crowd." Malfoy commented. I thought he was being deliberately mean as usual, but then I could see that he was right: everyone was wearing similar clothes to me, which was a relief to me but not to him – with his smart suit jacket he stood out a mile among all the leather corsets and jackets. I laughed at how out of place he looked: he gave me an odd look but before he could ask what was so funny Caldron Fire came on and anything he could've said would've been lost in the screams of adoring fans.

They were good. Seriously good. The comparison to Good Charlotte was right, but they were so much better than that, the songs electrifying and compelling, sending shivers up my spine. However, the one thing that spoiled the evening for me was the lead singer: she had a beauty that matched her voice, with fiery red, perfectly straitened hair that streamed down her back without a strand out of place. As she sang, I couldn't help noticing that Draco was staring at her approvingly, almost adoringly. Ok, so it was a concert – _everyone_ was looking at the singer – but the look on his face…I couldn't help feeling a sneaking suspicion that he was not looking at her face but at her chest, which seemed to be straining to escape from her corseted, floor-length gown. I was quiet on the way back to the car, Draco babbling beside me like an excited toddler, mulling over these thoughts.

"And she _signed_ it! She signed my ticket; I mean, I got to meet _and_ get the autograph of Gabriella Montez, lead singer of Caldron Fire – how cool is that?" He finally noticed my silence and turned to study my face, concerned. "Didn't you like them? Honestly, I don't know why I bothered, you with your trashy muggle rubbish…"

I shook my head. "It's not that, I liked them, but…"

"But what?" Malfoy looked exasperated. "Ebony, what's the matter with you?"

"Gabriella Montez." I said in a small voice.

"Her? What does Gabriella Montez have to do with – " The penny dropped. "Oh. _Oh._" His shoulders shook and he leaned forwards, his laugh resounding down the narrow alleyway that led to where he'd parked his car.

I stomped a foot. "Not funny."

"Girls and their tantrums…" He sobered up. "Seriously though, she's not all that. Great voice and all, but did you see what she was wearing? Needed to go up a dress size or several! And you should know by now exactly what I think of gingers." This time it was me who doubled over laughing; unfortunately that meant my sense of balance in my heels was compromised and I nearly fell, Malfoy chuckling as he held me upright. He brushed some wayward hair behind my ear and I felt my skin tingle. I became suddenly hyper-aware of how narrow the alley was, how close his body was to mine… "Ebony…" He murmured.

"…Yes?" I could barely get the word out, mesmerised by his lips and their close proximity to mine.

"When we get back to Hogwarts, please don't tell anyone that I acted like what muggles would call a 'fanboy'." He pulled away and started walking.

I swallowed down my disappointment and followed him. "Fine with me." God, I was such a paranoid bitch. He was acting like a totally different person to the boy I'd known ever since the Sorting Hat put us both in the same house. Surely that meant something, even though our relationship seemed so complex; him with his massive ego complex, me with my family background? But being paranoid wouldn't give me any answers; I'd have to find out how much I really meant to him all in good time. Thankfully when we got back to the car, there was something else to take my mind off of all that..

"What?" He raised his eyebrows when he turned from unlocking the car and saw me staring at the front bumper with a smirk on my face. I looked at him.

"666? Seriously?"

"It's just a sequence of numbers, what's so funny about it?"

I looked at his nonplussed expression. "666? The devil's number? You heard of it?"

"Stupid muggles and their superstitions, I should have known…" He clicked his tongue impatiently and opened the car door again for me. I got in feeling slighted, even though he hadn't been aiming the comment at me – I wished he wouldn't make comments like that about muggles and people who weren't pure-bloods like him, it was the one aspect of him that I didn't like. We drove in silence, but this time the silence seemed a little strained; Malfoy kept sneaking glances at me out of the corner of his eye as I peered out the window into the darkness, trying to ignore the fact that he was doing it. It felt a little unnerving, and after his comment I wasn't in the mood for conversation. When we were nearly back at Hogwarts, Malfoy stopped the car in midair so suddenly I jerked forward in my seatbelt and turned to look at me properly.

"God Malfoy, are you trying to give me whiplash?" I snapped, rubbing my bare shoulder where the seatbelt had dug in.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." I ignored him. He sighed and tilted my face towards his. "Ebony, is it what I said before? About muggles and their superstitions."

"Give the boy a Galleon."

"Look, I'm sorry I called you a muggle if that's what's wound you up."

"It's not that, it's – " I looked at him; he looked so expectant, so concerned, that I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell him that it was because I came from a muggle family and that I felt insulted by all the things he called people like us. I couldn't tell him that somehow despite all this I'd been put in Slytherin and been hiding this secret the whole time I'd been here, while people like him talked of how people like me shouldn't be allowed to desecrate the halls of Hogwarts. I couldn't finish by saying that I truly loved him despite all this, and that I wanted to make this work. Instead I pushed his hands away and stared down at my lap, fiddling with the lace on the skirt of my dress. "Nothing. Just forget I said anything. I'm sorry I've been acting like such a bitch."

I could feel his eyes boring into me and I expected some kind of confrontation, but instead he nodded slowly, said abruptly "Ok." and started to drive again. I watched the twinkling lights of the school get closer and closer, dreading giving Raven the lowdown on how I'd fucked the night up. As we passed over I braced myself for the lurching sensation of landing – but instead the lights disappeared and darkness stretched out in front as Malfoy kept on driving.

"Draco? Draco, what the hell are you doing?" I tried to make out his face through the blackness. "Where are you taking me?" I could suddenly make out the outline of trees beginning to stretch out beneath us and felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle as I realised exactly where we were headed even before Malfoy opened his mouth to speak.

"The Forbidden Forest."


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm going to say before I write this that I swore to myself that I would never write lemons again: I find it awkward to write and especially to re-read, as I feel like I'm not that good at writing it. So, uh, here I am writing a lemon chapter because I forgot that 'My Immortal' had so many. But hey, I can't do any worse…right? Anyway, many thanks to thisisforyou, dreamstar potter and Lynne Katrea for your support – this is for you.**

Chapter Four

"Stop the car." Malfoy didn't respond. "Draco, stop the car!"

"Relax Ebony, I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, getting us potentially _expelled_ is what you're doing."

"The key word is 'potentially'. Besides, Father would make sure that that wouldn't happen if it came down to it."

"Bit of a Daddy's boy aren't you?" I said viciously as we began our descent.

Malfoy's eyes slid over to me and the corners of his mouth slid up. "Actually, I don't think dating a girl like you fits into his scheme of things."

I raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore the warm glow in my belly that had ignited at the word 'dating'. "So what am I, your teenage rebellion against your father?"

He snorted. "If you want to see it that way."

"I don't want to."

"Then it's not."

I stared at him through the dark: the shadows deepened and I realised that we'd just passed through the treetops. Branches scraped across the body of the car and swept the windshield; suddenly all the horror stories I'd heard about the Forbidden Forest flashed through my mind in a mural of terrifying images and I returned to the subject at hand with renewed energy. "Turn the car around!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "First you tell me to stop, now you tell me to turn round – make your mind up!"

"Well I have – _turn the car around!_"

"Look, you wanted the car to stop? I'm stopping the car."

"Not here, not – " The car touched down with a bump, cutting me off mid-sentence. With a dramatic gesture Draco braked and the car slid to a halt.

"See? We've stopped." He killed the ignition and got out of the car, leaning against the bonnet. I rapped repetitively on the windshield to get his attention, but he kept his back to me, trying to draw me out. In the end, I got too pissed off to be scared of my surroundings anymore; I slammed the car door behind me and stormed over to his side.

"You little shit!" I spat at him. A chilling howl echoed in the distance – remembering where I was I lowered my voice to a hiss.. "What the hell do you think you're playing at?"

Malfoy ignored me, instead staring up at the sky. "Nice night, isn't it?"

"I couldn't give a rat's arse about…" I turned my face to the heavens and my voice trailed off. In the muggle world you could barely see the stars through the orange smog of light pollution: here in the Forbidden Forest the only reason that you could barely see the sky was because of the number of stars, beacons of light against the darkness. Their beauty was only disturbed by the jagged slashes of tree branches. Turning my head, I realised that Malfoy was no longer staring at the stars but at me, with that annoying smirk of his plastered on his face. I quickly closed my mouth and tried make my tone as sarcastic as possible. "So, you took me here to show me the view? No offence, but I could have seen this from the school."

Malfoy chuckled. "So, you're not impressed?"

"Am I meant to be?"

"Well, either you were just now or you were simply so bored that you'd decided to try to catch flies in your mouth." I racked my brain to find a witty retort but came up blank. "Look, you're doing it again!"

"Shut up!" I growled. Yes, a lame retort, but at least better than none. Then again, as his smirk got almost Cheshire-like, perhaps not. Dammit! I turned my back on him and folded my arms across my chest, letting him know that I was mad. There were a few beats of silence as I stared into the dark, feeling his eyes bore into my back.

"Actually," He said finally. "I brought you here to prove a point."

"Oh yeah?" I kept my back to him. "And what point, pray tell me, was that?"

I heard his feet scuffing on the earth floor, kicking up dead leaves. "I know I say some pretty…controversial things. I mean, that was what upset you in the car, right?"

I snorted. "Damn right it was." There was a pause. "So?"

"Well, actually I did kinda bring you out here for the view."

I groaned and turned to face him. "Draco, I don't have time for this." I made for the car but he grabbed my arm.

"No, wait!" I stopped but refused to look at him, despite the desperation in his voice; he was not going to get off the hook that easily. I waited impatiently as he gathered his thoughts.

"Look, I know that you probably could've seen this from Hogwarts, but would you have actually looked? I mean, actually _looked_ looked, not just glanced."

"This has no relevance to – "

"Yes, yes it does. Because a lot of people don't really see me. When you glance up at the sky at night all you see is the dark; that's all anyone really sees of me, or cares to see."

"So you brought me here to see your softer side?" Suddenly I felt bad for scoffing, but still I refused to turn to face him.

"No," His voice was softer now. "I brought you here to prove that if you stick with something long enough, you'll see that there's so much beauty and light in it as well as darkness. That it's worth it." A pause. "That I'm worth it."

I spun to face him. Malfoy searched my face with his eyes and suddenly I didn't – couldn't – be mad any more. He smiled wryly and made to pull away. "Forget it, that was stupid, I – " At that moment I acted on some kind of animal instinct; my right hand grasped his upper arm while the left bunched in his shirt, and I pulled him to me. His mouth closed over mine and something stirred in my stomach, like the warm glow I'd experienced before but much, much stronger, impossible to describe. In a corner of my mind I dimly realised that I'd been moved backwards; a tree was at my back and as Malfoy fumbled with the lacing of my corseted dress I felt its rough bark against my skin. It should've been uncomfortable but instead it felt weirdly sensual, scraping over my flesh as Malfoy pressed kisses against my neck, my collar bone, my chest as he pulled my dress lower. I laughed shakily and grasped his shoulders, forcing him up. "You're going to have to pull it over my head if you want to get it off me." My voice came out all…weird and breathless, not something that was a massive problem but was definitely new to me.

Malfoy blinked. "Oh. Yeah, right. Sure." I raised my arms above my head and closed my eyes; he inched it slowly off me, unclipped my bra, slid my panties down my legs…when I opened my eyes again he was looking me up and down in a way that sent shivers up and down my spine.

"What?"

"Nothing," He closed the distance between us. "Nothing at all." His lips brushed my jaw and I closed my eyes, waiting for more, but nothing happened. When I cracked my eyes open again he had his head cocked to one side, smiling. "So, are you going to be the only one of us naked?"

"Oh. Yeah, right. Sorry." Suddenly the whole situation just felt awkward. "Listen, I really don't know what to…I mean, I don't know how to…" Being tongue-tied was _not_ what I needed right now; he started laughing and I cringed – great, return of the bastard. Looks like his little speech didn't mean anything at all.

"You mean, you've never had sex before?" He caught my death stare – perfected by years of having to put up with Raven – and kissed me hard on the mouth; return of the warm glow mark two. For God's sake, why was it so hard to stay mad at this guy? He rested his forehead against mine. "Look, relax. It's not Advanced Transfiguration."

I cracked a grin. "You mean it's not rocket science."

"What?"

"Oh, never mind."

Malfoy smoothed his hands down my body and it was like I was breathing underwater. "Look, let's take this slowly, ok? One button at a time."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you think about sex all the time?"

"Only around you."

"Pervert!"

He winked. "Ah, you know me so well."

I sighed and reached for him, unbuttoning and pulling off his suit jacket, his shirt. I traced the faint line of stubble running across his chin and he smiled, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Don't stop there." With only a moment's hesitation I reached for his flies. His smile widened and I dropped my hand.

"Hey, the pervert smile is not helping at all."

He bit his lip, obviously making an effort to wipe the grin off his face and failing miserably. "Sorry. Can't help it."

I put my hands on my hips. "Oh, really?"

He slipped his arms through the gap made between my arms and body, and I could feel his erection pressing against my thigh. "Well, when one of your fantasies is coming true it's a little hard not to."

"You've been _fantasizing_ over me?" Instead of coming out shocked, the statement came out sounding like I was…_flattered_. Which, I kinda was. I couldn't believe I was happy about this – then again, it proved that at least he wanted me.

He chuckled and pulled his pants down. "Well, you took that well."

"So, that wasn't supposed to come out?"

"Well, it wasn't _planned_, no."

I smiled playfully as he reached for his boxers. "Like you didn't plan falling in love with me?"

He stepped out of the last of his clothes and looked directly into my face, his eyes glazed with lust. "Yes."

Now _that_, that right there, was like the cheesiest sequence of lines from the cheesiest film ever. Like, Cheese: The Movie. Or perhaps it was Return Of The Cheese, because it wasn't like the speech about the stars wasn't completely free of cheese. But I believed it and I wanted it, because it was coming from him. "Draco…" He kissed me again and this time he didn't stop, and I didn't want him to; I was drowning in his kisses, the glow had spread to the rest of my body and all I wanted was for him to pull me closer, hold me tighter. And then he entered me. It hurt like fuck but the pain didn't last long: pleasure rushed over and through me in waves as he moved, and I dug my nails deep into his back. "_Draco…_" He growled and pushed me back into the tree, the texture weirdly enhancing the pleasure. The waves got closer together and I tilted my head back, feeling his ragged breath against my neck a moment before his lips. I gasped as I felt the sensations coming to a climax, every part of me taut with expectation –

And then everything went to shit.

"I had rather hoped that you of all people would be above this sort of thing, Miss Way."

Oh. God. The calm, slightly amused voice was so out of place and so horribly familiar that it felt a little like a nightmare. Malfoy swore and pulled away from me, scrabbling at the ground for his clothes. Still dazed by the turn of events and dreading their outcome, I opened my eyes to meet the gaze of my headmaster. Albus Dumbledore.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm baaack! First off, massive apologies for not updating for so long and just as big thanks to the many people who have reviewed since my last update: Moony, ****504618011110, TheSecretAdmirer, Guest/s (I don't know if it's the same person or not – forgive me!), iwantsprezzatura, Erin Deer, DataTwoHearts, tasia12 and theunhappytwins.**** I'm going to start off with quite a long author's note, so apologies for that too but it's kinda crucial to where the fanfic is going from here so please don't skip!**

**Firstly, ****504618011110 has made the valid point that Ebony should be pure-blood. I changed this because – let's face it – a lot of their arguments and hissy fits are based on assumptions and just can't be taken seriously, so I wanted to add some actual reason for their drama to happen. It would be very hard for me to rewrite something that doesn't make sense or I don't like writing, so I used the best solution to the problem and created something new that I thought everyone would understand and appreciate better than something like her running off crying with Draco running after her naked with his massive 'you know what'…read the original to appreciate this image better. I know I did *coughsarcasmcough***

**This leads me on to the second – and most important – part of this note. From here on out, this rewrite departs from the original. It has packed its Hot Topic wear in a bag, kissed Vlodemort or Voldymint goodbye and left town for good. Let's be honest here – did you really want me to rewrite Loopin and Snap filming Eboby in the bath masticating? Yes, I am using the exact spellings used in the original. And if you said yes to my question, you've been reading too much FanFiction. I am going to try to recreate the plot to stick as closely to the books as possible, although you must excuse me if it isn't completely canon and I do get some details incorrect. For example, I have noticed that for my intended plot Ebony's year is completely wrong. Sorry about that, and anything else I've gotten wrong/will get wrong in future.**

**After all that, sincere congratulations for reading this far and not glazing over. Quick thanks to my awesome friend g for gnome for being a springboard about future plot ideas for a whole two-hour flight – no, no PM-ing her for spoilers! – and I really hope you enjoy this chapter.**

xXx

Chapter Five

Time – which had been moving so quickly just a few moments ago – seemed to have stalled and begun to move again at a snail's pace, just for the sake of extracting every ounce of agonizing embarrassment from me that it could. I could hear Malfoy – no, Draco, I could call him Draco now. We were there. We had reached that point – yanking his shirt back over his head; there was a rustle of dead leaves as he snatched up his suit jacket, and finally some muffled cursing as the zipper of his pants got caught halfway up. Unfortunately, I seemed to be frozen in place like a rabbit in the headlights, and Dumbledore's icy blue eyes seemed to betray more and more amusement from behind his half-moon spectacles with every passing second. At last he cleared his throat and, averting his eyes, said with some decorum: "I think it might be wise, before we continue any further, if you followed Draco's example and put some clothes on."

"I – yes, yes Professor."

"Please, call me Dumbledore." He said pleasantly as at last the power of movement returned to me (after an adequate period of self-humiliation, of course. What else should I have expected? _Shut up, brain_) and I got changed, hastily putting on my bra and panties and pulling my dress over my head. My hair had almost completely escaped the captures of my messy bun, and I didn't need a mirror to tell me how badly mussed it was. But that could wait; right now, I had other more pressing issues to worry about. For instance –

"Draco," I mumbled. "Uh, I need you to lace up my dress."

Draco looked at me dumbly, apparently still trying to come to terms with what had just happened. "Your dress?"

"Yes, my dress! The corseted thing that I've been wearing all night?"

He snapped out of it. "Your dress! Right, yes, okay." I turned so that my back was at a good angle to him and once again I felt his fingers on my skin. "This may take me a while, Professor."

"Take all the time you need," Despite the fact that he had turned away from us, I could hear the smile in Dumbledore's voice. "There's no rush." Draco laced me up in silence, sometimes pulling the corset a little tighter than he needed to, but at this stage I wasn't particularly fussed about that. Little voices were clamouring in my head like cloister bells, coming up with more and more things that I would have to endure before being expelled. By the time Draco had finished, I had come to the conclusion that we were going to be stood on a bench in front of the whole school whilst Dumbledore explained our activities in exquisite detail, then have a lecture from Snape which somehow involved torture by ferret, before being sentenced to life as substitute house elves and sent back to our respective families to carry out our new duties.

It was at this stage that Dumbledore spokaye again. "Are you finished?"

"Yes." Draco said tersely, moving to stand at my side. My hand instinctively reached for his and I expected to be rejected, but instead I felt him grasp it with his own and give it a tight, reassuring squeeze. Dumbledore turned to face us and I saw him take note of our entwined hands before he addressed us – or, rather, me. "Miss Way, would you mind if I had a quiet word with you? It won't take us very long; I'm sure Draco doesn't mind waiting in the car for us."

His tone was light, but the last sentence was so pointed that Draco couldn't do anything else but do as he said, as if it were a command. He let go of my hand and made to go, then suddenly forced my face up to his and gave me a kiss that was hard, possessive, and more uncomfortable than anything else, not because I didn't like it but because it was in front of Dumbledore. This seemed to be some kind of defence mechanism, something to make him feel more in control of the situation, and I didn't like it. Breaking away from me, he gave Dumbledore a defiant look before striding quickly back to the black Mercedes, climbing into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut after him. For a moment, a look of sadness passed over Dumbledore's face, but it came and went like a cloud blown across the sky and, turning away from the car, he looked up at the sky and said blithely. "I wonder, which of those is the North Star?"

I turned to look in his direction, scrutinising the stars before pointing. "That one?"

"Ah, I think you may be right." Dumbledore said brightly. "I've never been able to spot it myself – Astronomy was never my strong point." He pointed in the direction I had. "Now, let's see if I've got this right…that one was the one you were pointing at, wasn't it?"

I nodded, unable to tear my eyes away from his blackened hand, looking as though he had held it over a fire until it had cooked through and turned to charcoal. It was something that I had noticed at the beginning of the year and speculated about with Raven, but the full extent of his injury hadn't hit me until now. He realised that I was no longer looking up at the North Star and followed the direction of my eyes to his hand. He lowered his arm slowly and cradled his hand like it was made of glass, examining it in the starlight whilst a curious expression came over his face that I couldn't read, simply because I couldn't put a name to the emotion – or rather, the mix of emotions – written on his face.

"Dumbledore," I said tentatively, wanting to break the uncomfortable silence but unsure of how to phrase the question. "Your hand…what happened?"

He looked back up at me and smiled tiredly, still supporting his bad hand. "Some stories need to be ended before they are told. You'll be told one day; for now, it's a little late to tell long tales." He turned his head towards the stars again, as though he were searching for something. I peered in the direction he was gazing in, but whatever he was looking for seemed to be eluding me too. A moment later he said quietly: "Look out for him."

I blinked. "Dumbledore?"

He turned to contemplate me. "From what I can recall, the North Star is traditionally the star that sailors used at night to guide their way across the ocean. I think Draco needs guidance now more than he's ever needed it in his whole life."

I frowned, trying to make sense of his words. "Why? Do you suspect something?"

He gave a long sigh, and in an instant he suddenly looked incredibly old and sad. "A lot more than suspect, and I fear that it may be too late; but there's always hope that you'll guide him to the correct path again." He shook the sleeve of his midnight-blue robes down over his crippled hand and he was the Dumbledore I knew again; the calm, untroubled Dumbledore who had welcomed me to Hogwarts all those years ago. "But that is enough for one night, I think. Time to go back to the school."

My head reeling, I followed him back to the car. Seeing us coming, Draco leaned over and opened the front passenger door for me, and I got inside, shutting the door behind me and doing up my seatbelt. "What was all that about?" He hissed at me; even though Dumbledore got into the back seat and cut short any chance of conversation I don't think I could've explained anything to him if I didn't understand what had happened myself.

"I don't think I've ever had the privilege of travelling in one of these before." Dumbledore said brightly, gazing around the vehicle with interest. "The first I knew of anything like this was at the beginning of your second year – you know the two boys I'm talking about, don't you Draco?"

Draco jerked his head forward in assent, his lips pressed into a thin line. Starting the car, he pushed down the handbrake and practically stabbed the blue button on the dashboard. We flew back to the school in a tense silence. Dumbledore engrossed himself in peering with an almost childish interest out the window at the ground below, oblivious to – or pretending not to notice – the atmosphere inside, which was something that neither me nor Draco could do. I stared numbly out the windshield, too confused about Dumbledore's words to be worried about what was going to happen to me. The same could not be said for Draco: the closer the lights of the school came, the more of his earlier defiance ebbed out of him. By the time we'd come to land his knuckles were white on the wheel; he almost seemed to have to prise them off of the wheel to kill the engine and pull up the handbrake.

"Ebony, would you mind if I asked you to help me out of the car?" Dumbledore asked after we'd sat in silence for a few minutes. "I'm not quite as young as I used to be."

"Yes Dumbledore." I said quietly, opening the passenger door. Although he looked like he'd prefer to drive off into the Forbidden Forest again, Draco swiftly did the same and started walking slowly up to the school, hands jammed deep into his pockets, back as straight as a plumb line. Biting my lip, I moved round the car to help Dumbledore out of the car. I was bemused at first when he got out without me having touched him, but a moment later it was clear why he'd wanted me.

"I'd much rather that you didn't tell Draco about the contents of our little chat." He said almost conversationally to me as we started to follow Draco up the school drive.

"Oh. Yes. Okay. Um." Back to your old eloquence, Ebony. Well done. _Shut up brain._ "Any particular reason why?"

He smiled slightly at me. "I'd just prefer it if we kept it between ourselves." That clearly wasn't it, and I was about to challenge him about it when he continued quickly. "Anyway, I believe there may be a little party waiting for us when we return. They've been quite worried about you two, you know."

_Oh, crap._ The shrill little voices of doom picked up from where they'd left off, and they'd just added the elaborate detail of Snape wearing Neville's grandmother's clothes like the boggart in our third year whilst the ferret torture progressed – somehow, there was even a dance to go with it – when my worst fears began to be realised.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were waiting to greet us in the Entrance Hall. Wait, 'greet' is too cheerful a term. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were waiting to drag us to the dungeons and begin the ferret torture in the Entrance Hall. Exaggeration, you say? Well, you sir are completely wrong. Same if you are a madam. Or a dragon. Look, the point is that Professor McGonagall looked ready to throttle us, and Professor Snape had his own personal chilly atmosphere that made me actually want to beg for the throttling. I scooted slightly closer to Draco, who looked just as ready to ask for a quick death as I did, which wasn't especially reassuring.

"Albus," Professor McGonagall said crisply. "I suppose these two had a good excuse for infringing several of our school rules?"

"Ah, Minerva," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "It's a nice night tonight, isn't it?"

"Albus-"

"Of course, where are my manners?" Dumbledore rummaged through his pockets and produced a small paper bag. "Toffee, anyone? I seem to have gone off of sherbet lemons."

"Albus," Professor McGonagall continued impatiently. "I – we – would like to know what these two students were thinking of, driving into the Forbidden Forest like that. They could have been killed!" Looking into Snape's eyes, I started wishing that we had.

"Oh, yes, that," Dumbledore picked out a toffee and held up to the light; a tactic not to make eye contact with anyone, if I was not mistaken. "Their car appears to have suffered a slight malfunction; as soon as you notified me of the problem I immediately went to find them and helped them to fix the issue. They were having a bit of trouble before I arrived, hence Miss Way's present condition."

Professor McGonagall looked just as disbelieving as Draco and I did. "Are you really telling me that they drove into the Forest because they couldn't do otherwise?"

"Not without doing considerable damage to the school property," Dumbledore began rooting around in the paper bag again. "Quite considerate of them really."

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, then closed it again with a sigh. "Very well, Headmaster. Well, you two had better go to your dorms."

"With all due respect, Minerva," Professor Snape said smoothly, his eyes fixed on us like a snake's on a pair of cowering mice he was considering for a midnight snack. "As head of their house I am responsible for what happens next, and I would like to have a quick word with them before they go." Professor McGonagall shot him a look, but nodded and retired.

"I suppose I had better go on up to bed as well," Dumbledore made to take his leave. "There never seems to be enough hours in a night, are there Severus?"

"Indeed." Snape said, not turning his head.

"I'll leave these two in your capable hands, then. Goodnight." I had the urge to scream _'Don't leave me! Don't leave me with him!'_ at his retreating back, but somehow I managed to restrain myself. Snape seemed to glide towards us, and the sheer icy force of his anger hit us with the force of the biggest fan in the world being turned on at full blast from a distance of three feet. Draco flinched but Snape barely seemed to notice, his gaze travelling between us with the languor of a man that had all the time in the world for what he had to do.

"Funny, isn't it," He said slowly. "How the Headmaster said your car had some kind of…malfunction…and yet neither of you are as filthy as would be had you been trying to fix the problem."

My heart had been rammed right up in my throat, but I managed to gulp it back down to its proper place to reply. "There wasn't as much oil as we expected. To come out of the car, I mean. When we were fixing it."

Snape's attention snapped over to focus solely on me. "Not as much oil?" He repeated.

"Um. Yeah. There just…wasn't…and…" With that, my brilliance deserted me and I trailed off, wanting to curl up into a ball and cry. Or perhaps spontaneously combust. Or both.

"You ludicrous fools," He said coldly. "If you think Dumbledore's little stunt right there in any way convinced me of your innocence then you are deeply mistaken; it's just providential that McGonagall wasn't here to listen to your pitiful attempt at an explanation." _Yes, Ebony, you really excelled your powers of charisma there. Now, why can't I sound like that when I open my mouth? Shut up brain, now's not the time. _"If this was anyone from any other house, I would have expelled them on the spot." He paused, and there was a flicker of hope. "However, as you are both under _my_ protection I shall only remind you of the consequences that you shall escape this time round, and I shall be contacting your family, Draco, on removing that car from the grounds."

"Yes, Professor." We both mumbled. Satisfied, Snape motioned for us to go; however, when Draco went to follow me, Snape stopped him.

"No, Draco. We need to have a little chat before you go."

Draco swallowed hard, and I had a brief sense of déjà-vu before Snape rounded on me. "Well? Anything else?"

"Uh, no Professor."

"Then go."

I didn't need telling twice: I practically ran to the Slytherin dorms, tumbling out of the passage into the green-lit common room area. Raven was waiting for me, clearly eager to get all the gossip about my big night, but as soon as she saw my face her whole mood changed. "What did that bastard do to you?"

"No," I panted. "Draco…I…"

"Oh, it's 'Draco' now?" She put her hands on her hips. "Seriously Ebony, just give me the word and I'll personally castrate the man."

"What? No! He…I…we…Snape…"

"That sequence of words sounds vaguely disturbing to my dirty mind."

"Shut up!" I growled, finally catching my breath. God but I needed to exercise more.

Raven beamed. "Oh good, you can talk now!" She pulled me up off the ground before pushing me down again onto one of the comfortable sofas by the fireplace. The fire within had burnt itself out, and it was only now that I realised how cold it was. I shivered, wrapping my arms round myself. Raven didn't notice, plonking herself down opposite me. "Tell me _everything_ – looks like you've had quite the dramatic evening!"

"You could say that again." I replied, before starting to give her an in-depth analysis of the night. When I got past the bit with the stars she held up a hand to stop me.

"And you _forgave him?_"

"Um, yeah. Wasn't I meant to?"

"Ebony, technically speaking when he was talking about Muggles so disparagingly earlier he was insulting you and your family."

"Well-"

"Don't even try to defend this guy! You really think that his little monologue about stars and actually being quite a nice dude was serious? Honestly, next you'll be saying that you let him into your pants!" She caught sight of my face. "You're flushing. Oh. Dear. _God, _you're fucking _flushing!_ You let him fuck you and you're practically _glowing_ about it!"

"He said that he hadn't meant to fall in love with me." I said in a small voice.

Raven scoffed. "Oh pur-_lease_, I suppose he also said he had been fantasising about having sex with you."

"Well-"

"EWW! Eww, eww, eww, I didn't want to know that – in fact, I didn't want to know anything else. Consider this conversation done. I don't want to know." There was a brief silence whilst she fidgeted around in her seat, then, as though she couldn't help herself, she blurted out: "So how was he?"

I smirked despite myself. "He was…good. More than good, actually. But we never…you know…got around to…you know…"

"Neither of you came?" Raven raised her eyebrows. "Wow. That's seriously bad. Almost as bad as you not being able to say the word 'cum' in a sentence."

"But it's weird!"

"God you're such a freak, why are we friends?"

"Because you nearly killed me in our first charms lesson?"

"Oh, yes, there was that. I was really sorry about that, by the way."

"Not as sorry as I was…"

"Oh, stop complaining; it wasn't like you were bleeding that much! Anyway, don't worry about it, you'll get better over time. A few times with Zabini and I was there."

I waved my hands haphazardly in the air. "Now who's telling things that I really didn't need to know about?"

Raven shrugged. "Just trying to make you feel better."

"Look, it wasn't that we weren't able to; I mean, I could feel it happening. Or it was about to happen. But then Dumbledore came along and-"

"Woah. Back up. Dumbledore interrupted your first time?" Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh. Shit."

"Oh believe me, it gets worse." I continued in my tale of woe and after I'd finished she struggled for words.

"Jesus…now that is some night!"

"Tell me about it." I groaned.

"What do you think Dumbledore meant ? And what do you think Snape's talking to Malfoy about?"

"I honestly don't know, and it's driving me mad."

"And you weren't already?" I glared at her. "Joking, geez. Anyway, when exactly are you going to tell him that you're not a pure-blood?" I opened my mouth to protest but she forcibly shut it with her hand. "Ebony, you need to tell him. The longer you leave it, the worse it's going to be when he finds out. He needs to accept you for all of you, and if you can't even tell him about who you truly are-"

I removed her hand from around my jaw. "I'll do it. I promise."

"Good." There came a slight sound from behind us as someone moved up the passage towards us. "And if I'm not mistaken, here he is now."

A few seconds later Draco stepped out of the passage, stopping short when he saw the two of us seated on the sofas. Raven gave Draco a curt nod which was reciprocated, before standing. "I'll see you in the dorm, okay Ebony?"

"Sure, I'll be up in a sec." I tried to ignore Raven's meaningful look as she made for the stairs and stood to face Draco. He waited until Raven had left before speaking.

"I get the impression that she doesn't like me very much."

I cracked a weak smile. "You may be onto a winner there."

He frowned slightly. "Listen, if I'm causing any problems between you and Raven, then maybe we shouldn't-"

"No, no, it's fine," I said quickly. "She says she doesn't mind."

"Hmm. Are you sure? Because girls can be quite hard to read."

"Well I am one, and I'm saying that she's cool with us."

"I'm not sure that Snape is."

"Was that what he wanted to talk to you about?"

His jaw clenched. "He doesn't want me to be with you. Said that I didn't need any kind of complications right now."

I raised my eyebrows. "And why would our relationship be a complication?"

"I don't know," I felt almost certain that that was a lie, that this was only the tip of the iceberg of their conversation, but he kept going before I could say anything. "But I told him where to get off; I want to be with you and nobody's going to get in the way of that."

Okay, so Raven said that he just wanted me for sex and everything he came out with was a lie, but… I looked at him and although I knew deep in my gut that there was something that he wasn't telling me, there had been nothing but honesty in the last part of what he said. "And what did he say to that?"

"He couldn't say anything – hell, he can't do shit to me! My father may be in Azkaban, but Snape knows better than to cross with any son of his, and that goes for everyone else. No-one is going to get in my way!" His voice had gotten stronger and suddenly I felt a little afraid of him, even though it was completely irrational. The way he was now was kind of similar to the way he had acted around Dumbledore and it set me on edge for reasons I didn't understand. He saw me tense and he visibly reigned himself in, laughing shakily as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, it's just…I've never felt like this with anyone else before, and I can't let anyone get in the way of that." He looked me dead in the eyes, and the glow in my stomach sparked to life again. "And before Dumbledore came, in the Forbidden Forest…it was good between us, wasn't it?"

I nodded, moving to him. "Yes. Yes it was."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, so that my chin was resting on his shoulder. He still carried the scent of the Forest on him and I closed my eyes, hugging him back, not wanting this moment to end. He cleared his throat. "So, what was Dumbledore saying to you?"

I thought quickly. "He was explaining to me what he was planning to say to McGonagall and Snape."

"You looked just as surprised as I did when he came out with all that rubbish."

"I was acting; you know, to make it look realistic."

"For an actor you were pretty crap when Snape turned on you."

"Acting again; I should've gotten an Osc- some kind of award for that." Praying that he hadn't noticed yet another Muggle reference, I buried my face in the point where his neck merged with his shoulder blade. There was a short pause before he answered.

"Yeah, you should've." Another pause. "Ebony, you'd tell me if you were hiding something, right?"

So he hadn't completely bought it. That was okay. That put us on equal ground when it came to not completely believing each other. "Of course – just as much as you would."

There was no reply to that. We just sort of stood there, arms locked round each other, neither of us willing to let go or fully trust the other – at least, that was the impression that I got. Then, almost reluctantly, Draco withdrew.

"I suppose we'd better go to bed." He said ruefully

"Yeah, I suppose." I replied awkwardly. His lips twitched upwards and I had a split second to think how much more gorgeous he looked when he wasn't smirking or taking the piss out of someone before he leaned in and gave me the same hard, possessive kiss he'd given me in front of Dumbledore, except that this time it didn't feel at all uncomfortable. My arms snaked round his back and one hand fisted in his hair, whilst the other pushed him in the small of his back so that he was right up against me. The kiss deepened and in the small part of my brain that was still functioning I was starting to wonder how to move this over to the sofa when he pulled away, gently pushing me away by the forearms. "Once is enough for tonight, I think." He murmured, his forehead almost touching mine.

I grinned wickedly. "You can only manage once?"

His head snapped up and there was something wolfish in his eyes that translated in my mind to 'I-want-to-eat-you-all-up' and the hairs on the back of my head prickle. In a good way, to be clear. I wasn't exactly adverse to the idea. Hey, internal rhyme. _Shut up brain, you're not needed here_. "So you think I can't do more than once?"

I leaned in so that we were forehead to forehead again. "Prove to me that you can then."

"I am very tempted to do just that," His eyes slid to my lips and my grin widened, if possible, to ever an even greater width, but then he released me and I felt disappointed. "But not tonight. Some other time."

"So there'll be other nights?"

He chuckled. "Oh, you can be sure that there will be other nights." He kissed me on the forehead. "Goodnight Ebony."

"Night, Draco." I didn't wait for him to leave, my newfound confidence buoying me up the stairs and into our dorm. I felt positive, I felt strong, I felt like I could do anythi- And then I tripped over a discarded stiletto from earlier that evening and went sprawling at the end of Raven's bed.

She smirked at where I lay from where she was seated cross-legged, all ready for bed. "Classy entrance there."

"Oh, shut up." I grunted, pulling off my dress and pulling on my night things.

"Aren't you going to brush your teeth or anything?"

"Raven, I'm tired; dental hygiene can wait till morning."

"Whatever you say." She looked at me intently. "So, did you tell him?" I made no reply, turning out the lights and getting into bed. She sighed. "Ebony…"

"I couldn't, okay? Not tonight, not just yet."

"So you've been going out for less than twenty-four hours, and you're already keeping secrets from each other?" I didn't have a reply for that. "Well, this is going to end in tears, you see if it doesn't."

"Goodnight, Raven."

"I will try very hard not to say 'I told you so', but you know mw-"

"Good_night_ Raven." I snapped.

I heard the rustle of sheets as she got into her own bed. "Okay, okay. Lecture over. Just…I hope you know what you're letting yourself in for. Seriously."

"I do." I insisted, turning over. But as the night's events played, replayed and re-replayed in my head, I had a hard time convincing myself that this was true.

**Did anyone see the AVPM reference and the original 'My Immortal' insult that I slipped in? Virtual cookies for anyone who did! I have a bad feeling that Draco went a little OOC near the end of this so I'm sorry for that; I can only plead that he's that deeply in love with her that he's become able to not be the total jerk that he usually is around her. Although when they find out the secrets that they're hiding from each other, that's not going to last long, is it? *Cackles***

**So, an uber-long update for an uber-long wait – sounds about right, oui? Please review and let me know how it's going!**


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